Monroe Crossing

The members of Monroe Crossing are:

Derek Johnson: Vocals, Guitar
Derek grew up on the Dakota prairie in Moorhead, Minnesota. In 1993 he moved to Minneapolis and for many years he performed in a variety of rock and roll bands. Around the turn of the century Derek discovered bluegrass music and there’s been no turning back. He spent a few years developing his bluegrass vocal styling and
guitar chops in a band called The Boot Draggers before co-founding The High 48s Bluegrass Band in 2006.

Lisa Fuglie: Vocals, Fiddle, Mandolin, Guitar
Originally from Nigeria, Lisa learned mandolin from an old Bill Monroe 78rpm record. Though that old record is long gone, its spirit of Bluegrass remains. Mix in her international background, and Lisa's performances are truly a cross-continental and cross-cultural experience!A stellar vocalist, she is also a prolific songwriter, solo performer, studio musician, and educator who has performed with such notables as The Hers, the Outskirts, and the Deadly Nightshade Family Singers. She received the Folk Arts Apprenticeship Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board to study fiddle with Minnesota legend Bill Hinkley, and was the recipient of the 2000 Female Vocalist of the Year Award (in the Related Music category) from the Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Association. Lisa plays with the drive and intensity that defines Bluegrass fiddle, but listen closely and you will hear a world of experience.

Matt Thompson: Mandolin, Vocals, Fiddle
"The Voice of Monroe Crossing", Matt is the band's M.C. and handles all their interviews. After a chance encounter with a Bill Monroe record, a young Matt Thompson instantly fell in love with this incredible sound and proceeded to order Monroe record after Monroe record. Mandolin became Matt's instrument of choice, and Bluegrass a huge part of his life. Within two years his initial group, The Bluegrass Connection, won First Place at the 1982 Minnesota State Fair talent contest. Later bands included River Basin Bluegrass, Inside Track, and Big Skyota with Art Blackburn. In 1997, he co-founded True Blue and performed on Garrison Keillors "A Prairie Home Companion" and showcased at the International Bluegrass Music Association convention in Louisville, KY. A superb singer, songwriter and the bands MC, Matt also plays twin fiddle for Monroe Crossing. And he received the Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Association's Bluegrass Mandolin Player of the Year Award in 2000. Now that Matt has returned to his traditional roots with Monroe Crossing, you'll hear his heart and soul in every note.

Mark Anderson: Bass, Vocals
Mark came to Bluegrass after twenty years of playing bass and drums in a series of "alternative" groups. In 1995, friends suggested he get a string bass and bring his alternative zeal to the Bluegrass community. He quickly realized hed found a musical home and joined Art Blackburn in Art & Sandi's Pretty Good Band, and later, The Pretty Good Bluegrass Band. Mark was also a member of The Deadly Nightshade Family Singers. Mark is acknowledged as one of the Midwests elite Bluegrass bass players. In fact, he was nominated by the Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Association as 2000 Bassist of the Year in both the Bluegrass and the Related Music categories! No matter the style or venue, Mark's earthy drive is unmistakably his own and is sure to set the feet tapping.

David Robinson: Banjo
David Robinson joined Monroe Crossing in 2012 at just 18 years old! Growing up in a musical family, David developed an interest in folk music at an early age. Inspired by musician and storyteller David Holt, he taught himself how to play many different instruments, including harmonica, mandolin and guitar. Upon hearing bluegrass from the local band Bent Grass as well as listening to Earl Scruggs on “The Complete Mercury Recordings of Flatt & Scruggs,” David took up the banjo at the age of 14 and has stuck with it ever since. Most of David’s first musical experiences came from playing with his family in Yellow House Road, which, in May of 2011, released an all-original CD entitled “Before She Goes." David contributed two original compositions to this collection. Aside from Yellow House Road, David has frequently performed and recorded with the bands Bent Grass, The Goodtime Specials, and folk singer and storyteller Skip Jones. Since 2010, David has endorsed Nechville banjos.